Strapless brassiere



April 24, 1962 o. ERTESZEKI 3,030,961

' STRAPLESS BRASSIERE Filed May 20, 1960 IN V EN TOR.

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United States Patent 3,030,961 STRAPLESS BRASSIERE Olga Erteszek, 7915 Haskell Ave., Van Nuys, Calif. Filed May 20, 1960, Ser. No. 30,583 3 Claims. (Cl. 128--465) This invention relates to improvements in strapless brassieres, by which term is meant brassieres affording the bust support by way of a back strap structure and the materials and configurations of the connected pockets, to the exclusion of shoulder straps.

My general object is to provide a significant advance in strapless brassieres, characterized by greater ease and comfort to the wearer while affording complete and properly contoured support for the bust. Specifically, the invention aims to achieve this objective to the exclusion of any necessity for the customarily required wire or like components, particularly along a tensioned bottom of the brassiere, which cause much discomfort to the wearer.

The invention is predicated generally upon the concept of so constructing the brassiere as to provide what amounts essentially to a pocket-defining frame structure connected to the back strap in such relation as to pro vide for distributed points of support at the bottom and sides of the pockets, and to internally support the pockets both vertically and transversely in a manner having such compatibility with the frame structure as to enable the brassiere as a whole to have comfortable flexibility with complete bust supporting effectiveness.

In distinction to the approach taken in design of the usual strapless brassieres wherein reliance is placed upon a tensioned and frequently stiffened or otherwise reinforced bottom band to support the weight above, the present invention aims to closely approach uniformity in pressure applied by the upper and lower edges of the brassiere, and thus assure a comfortable fit without annoying pressures. With the frame structure thus applied and conformed to the body, the reinforcement given the pockets assures proper bust support by reason of the structural compatibility of such reinforcement with the frame.

In further reference to the basic frame structure of the brassiere, the invention has for its further object to utilize to unique advantage in a strapless brassiere, the type of frame structure disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 831,217, filed August 3, 1959, on Brassiere, now Patent No. 2,995,133, which also is predicated upon giving such distribution of support to the garment that substantially uniform pressures are applied along top and bottom extents in the worn condition of the brassiere. Specifically, this result is achieved by employing a single longitudinally elastic back strap which is connected to the pocket structures by an essentially triangular arrangement of force-transmitting tapes, comprising upper and lower tapes converging respectively from the tops and bottoms of the pockets to points of converged attachment to the back strap. Thus the converged upper and lower tapes have the capacity for independent .tensioning and, as indicated, the application of forces approaching uniformity, top and bottom, all in distinction to the usual brassiere where reliance for support is placed primarily upon a strongly tensioned or reinforced bottom member.

Structurally, and more particularly, the invention contemplates peripherally forming or defining each interconnected pocket with upper and lower fully flexible tapes, bindings or the like, connected to the back strap at peripherally disturbed locations, and internally supporting the pockets by vertically extending stays, while transversely supporting the pockets by means, preferably also in the form of stays, extending laterally within the pockets.

As a preferred construction under this characterization, each fabric pocket is made to contain bowed, generally 3,030,961 Patented Apr. 24, 1962 ice the pocket is given vertical support above its lower extent, and lateral support by virtue of the structural asso-- ciations afforded by the transverse stays, all in a manner permitting flexible and comfortable transmission of the: support to the back strap.

The invention has various additional features and details, such as my preferred manner of relating and asso-- ciating the stay arrangement with the pocket structures, all of which will be more fully understood from the following detailed description and illustrative embodiment of the invention shown by the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing the brassiere in front elevation;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged showing of one of the pockets as viewed from the inside; and

FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are enlarged fragmentary cross sections taken respectively on lines 33, 4-4, 55 and 66 of FIG. 2.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the brassiere is shown to comprise the breast pockets, generally indicated at 10, interconnected at 11 and attached at their outsides to a back strap structure of suitable form and configuration,- consisting typically and preferably of an elastic strap 12, the sections of which are adjustably interconnectable by appropriate fastening means such as hooks 13 engageable with spaced eyelets 14.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the pockets 10 is de fined by an upper fabric stn'p, tape or binding 15 sewm at 16, see FIG. 6, about the pocket material 17 which preferably is composed of a sponge rubber layer 18 between fabric 19 and a lace or other decorative covering 20. The lower periphery of each pocket is defined by a U-shaped binding or tape 21 terminally sewn at 22 to the binding 15 and at 23 to a pocket-interconnecting tape or binding at 24 to which binding 15 also terminally connects. Binding 21 may be lined with a fabric tape 25 sewn to the binding only at the outside and carrying a. central band of rubber threads 26 which comfortably resist shifting when applied to the wearer. The interconnecting tape at 24 may be similarly faced with the rubber threaded fabric 27.

The pocket frame structure also includes a tape or binding strip 28 which converges with binding 22 to terminal attachment at 29 to the back strap. Tape 28 extends across the bottom of the pocket in sewn overlapping relation with tape 21 to a central connection with a short tape 30 attached to the transverse tape at 24, tape 28 preferably constituting essentially a single run extending between the points of connection at 29 with the back strap. Thus as the brassiere is worn, tightening of the back strap tends to tension the fully flexible tapes 28 and 15 generally uniformly about the wearer to whom the effect is a comfortable fittting of the garment top and;

bottom.

Each pocket 10 is supported by a pair of generally vertically extending stays 31 which in the contoured condi-- tion of the pocket assume spaced, bowed shapes at oppo-- site sides of the pocket center. These stays preferablyextend substantially the distance between the upper and lower bindings or tapes 15 and 21, and preferably are. adapted to permit some relative displacement of the pocket fabric by containing the stays within tapes or bindings 32 sewn to the inside of the pocket at opposite sides of the stays, but leaving the latter essentially free otherwise. Each pocket is laterally supported by stays 34 and 35 extending transversely and generally centrally of the pocket in line with its apexat 14, from the locations of stays 31 to the outer portions or peripheries of the pockets. Preferably stay 35 is extended to within the binding 15, and stay 34 is extended to the inside of binding 21. Projected inner support may be aiforded by the stays 34 and 35 by extending them inwardly at their spaced-apart ends 34a and 35a beyond the stays 31.

In making the brassiere, the stays 34 and 35 are confined inside a tape 36 which may be sewed continuously across the pocket between the bindings 15 and 21. Stays 31 are then applied upon the transverse stays so affixed, and the confining bindings 32 then sewed about the vertical stays.

Preferably I also employ in each pocket a pair of stays 37 and 38 contained in' tapes 39 and 40 in the manner that stays 31 are accommodated in tapes 32, thus to give vertical reinforcement between binding 21 and stays 34, 35 at the outsides of stays 31.

The vertically extending stays 31 may be made or selected to have somewhat greater width than the transverse stays 34 and 35. Thus as illustrative materials, stays 31 may be made of metal having comfortable bearing width, while the stays 34 may be made of organic plastic or like material having suflicient stiffness to aiford the necessary lateral support, stays 37 and 38 also may be of material like the transverse stays 34.

I claim:

1. In a shoulder strapless brassiere comprising a single longitudinally tensionable back strap, a pair of sections interconnected at the front of the brassiere and each peripherally defined by independently tensionable upper and lower tapes extending respectively from the top and bottom of the section outwardly to converged terminal connections with said strap and extending inwardly to a central juncture of said sections, a cup within each section peripherally defined at the top by said upper tape and at the bottom by a generally U-shaped tape connected at its upper ends to said upper tape, said lower tape extending continuously from said terminal connections longitudinally along the bottom of said U-shaped tape and in direct connection therewith to said central juncture so that in the worn condition of the brassiere the cup periphery defined by said U-shaped tape is supported from said single back strap at the bottom and upper ends of the U- shaped tape, by the forces transmitted individually by said upper and lower tapes from the tensioned back strap, flexible fabric cupped to occupy the cup areas and attached to said U-shaped tapes; the improvements comprising a pair of first bowed flexible stays extending generally vertically within and at opposite sides of the center of each cup to give the cup vertical support above said lower binding, and a pair of second flexible stays in each cup extending transversely and outwardly from said first stays, said second stays being movable apart with movement apart of said first stays as the cup is conformed to the wearer, and said second stays being spaced apart and intersecting and extending inwardly of the cup beyond said first stays.

2. A shoulder-strapless brassiere comprising flexible upper and lower bindings defining the upper and lower peripheries of fabric breast pockets interconnected at the center of the brassiere, a sectional back strap connected to said bindings and adapted in use to tension the lower bindings about the wearer, a pair of first bowed self shape-sustaining flexible stays extending generally vertically within and at opposite sides of the center of each pocket to give the pockets vertical support above said lower binding, and a pair of second flexible stays in each pocket extending transversely and outwardly from said first stays, said second stays being movable apart as the pocket is conformed to the wearer, and said second stays extending across and inwardly beyond said first stays and being spaced apart at the center of the pocket.

3. A brassiere according to claim 2, comprising also stays extending vertically below said second stays at the outsides of said first stays.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 535,627 Rew Mar. 12, 1895 1,144,001 Rovira June 22, 1915 2,457,989 Ettleson Jan. 4, 1949 2,512,215 Rosenthal et a1. June 20, 1950 2,854,984 Rosenthal Oct. 7, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,132,696 France Nov. 5, 1956 

